The literary cafés, like the Gran Café de Gijón, are much more than traditional coffeehouses. They are cultural institutions, symbols of the city they inhabit, and republics of dreams for artists, creators, and intellectuals.

The Gran Café de Gijón was founded in the spring of 1888 by the enterprising and nostalgic gijonés Don Gumersindo García, who named his business after his birthplace. Located between Cibeles and Colón, at Paseo de Recoletos number 21 in the heart of Madrid, he gave it the name of the city that saw him born. This Asturian man composed the first musical notes of this café, a composition that continues to be written under the direction of new “musicians,” the current owners.

The café was divided into two sections. On one side, coffee was served to customers arriving by carriage at the door, while the other side housed the stables. What the founder couldn’t have imagined is that, over time, the Gran Café de Gijón would become a celebrity in its own right, a cultural institution, the most famous café in Spain, and one of the most prestigious cafés in the world, significantly influencing the socio-cultural life of Spain.